How to Drastically Increase the Life of Your Shaver Razor Blade Cartridges or Disposable Razors

Today I found out how to drastically increase the life of your shaver razor blades, such as Gillette or Schick Brand razors. This trick is incredibly simple and just as incredibly effective. It will also save you a nice chunk of change over time and make all your dreams come true…

For instance, Gillette Fusion Brand razor cartridge sets typically will run you about $27 per set of 12, which will typically only last you a few months and less if you actually go by their expiration “strip” in determining when the cartridge needs replaced. With the below method, I have now gone about eight months using the exact same cartridge and the blades on the cartridge are as sharp as when I first popped the cartridge on.

I have no idea how long this will keep up, but now a package of 12 cartridges is apparently going to last me at least 12 years or more. This is a savings of around $70 a year over my previous expenditures on these cartridges; so then a savings of close to $840 over the course of 12 years or so and possibly will last more years depending on how long these things will stay sharp with the below method (I haven’t yet found the upper limit).

You could then use this $840 to buy $840 worth of bacon, which should of course make all your dreams come true, assuming your dreams are all bacon related; which lets face it, who’s aren’t???

Materials Needed:

Pair of Jeans (old or new, it doesn’t matter; just needs to have one of the pant legs in tact)

Shaver like Gillette or Schick Brand razors or other disposable razors.

Before or after you shave (I prefer before so that the blades are dry), place your jeans on a hard flat surface; then run the razor up the pant legs about 10-15 times quickly; then repeat running it down the pant legs 10-15 times quickly. No need to press that hard, but a little pressure is necessary. In both instances, you want to point the top of the razor in the direction you are rubbing the shaver on the pants. In other words, don’t “shave” the pants; point the razor the other way, so that the blades glide over the surface of the jeans and don’t try to cut them.

The threads on the jeans then will very effectively both fix any tiny bends in the blades that inevitably happen and will also sharpen the blades on your shaver cartidge. For an already dull blade, you can sharpen it up pretty effectively by doing 50-100 swipes both ways to get it back up to “like new” condition, but only 10-15 times swiped both ways should be necessary to maintain sharpness.

Pro-tip: rather than always having to grab a pair of jeans to do this with, I just cut the pant leg off some old jeans I was throwing away and put it in the same drawer as my Gillette shaver. The same pant leg has so far sharpened the blades on my shaver cartidge quite well for going on eight months now.

I found this on a tutorial somewhere on the good ol’ Internet about eight months ago, but can’t seem to find it now; instead in my search to find where I originally saw this, my results are always coming up with how to sharpen the old barber shop style straight edge razor blades.

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Let’s say you live to be 80 years old. Providing you start shaving from the age of, shall we say, 15? That’s 65 years of shaving in your life. At $70 a year, that’s $4550. Not exactly an amount of money you’d willingly throw away if you had the choice of keeping it, especially with a method this quick and easy.

Rich people get and stay rich by not spending more money than they have to. If you can save a couple bucks a month by simply running your razor over an old pair of jeans, why wouldn’t you? I suspect Joe’s real name may be Gillette.

Anyway, interesting post! I wonder if this would work as well on the disposable razors made for women, since those are often rounded and have weird little lotion strips on them. I’m certainly going to try it!

I’m shocked there’s no mention of the mineral oil trick. After drying the blades rest the razor into a cup with a few centimeters of mineral oil in it. It wont evaporate like rubbing alcohol and will repel the water from the blades while protecting them from rusting.

Thanks for the tip, those stupid disposable cartridges are way over priced! I’ll try it next time I shave my legs. P.S. There’s nothing wrong with shaving cream, it helps with razor burn better than conditioner.

Great tip, good way to save a couple of bucks every now and then. Speaking of shaving cream, I use my girlfriend’s shave gel. It foams up way better than anything I have ever bought (I use less than half as much gel when I use her’s) and gives a great shave.

I shave my head every day and go through razors much faster than the rare times I shave my beard. A Mach 3 typically lasts me only about 3 shaves, so I am burning through money on these things. I look forward to giving this a try tomorrow morning.

Interesting tip! Always thought about how I could save money with those; a pack of 4 Gilletes Mach 3 cost about €17 over here, and since I shaved everyday (rough beard) they only lasted a couple of months, tops.

I would try this out, but I got tired and stopped shaving at all I’m now a proud owner of a beautiful trimmed beard, and loving it as well. When my lady boss (girlfriend) gets tired of it and forces me to shave, I will certainly try your tips out. Thanks.

Anyone who wants to save some $ on shaving should try using an old-style safety razor with double edged razor blades. The shave is much, much nicer and it feels way classier than those insanely overpriced plastic cartridges. It’s just better quality and you can shave with a brand new blade every couple of days for pennies each. Quit getting taken by Gillette and their ilk.

love it. when i shave my ass later, i’ll be prepared to feel extra-silky smooth down there. it’ll make my boyfriend happier because now when he gives me a rim-job, he won’t come back up for air with a mouthful of pubes stuck in his teeth. Thanks Daven!

Sounds OK, but I have a system(?)that really works for me without the jeans. I discovered this by accident and have found it to be a real money saver.
I just don’t use shaving cream when I shave. No soap either. I just use a lot of hot/warm water to soften my beard and then proceed to shave without the addition of any lubricant of any sort. I may just be lucky in that my skin is super oily or something of that sort but even when I pre-wash my face with soap, if I wash off the soap and just shave without the application of shaving cream/soap or anything of the like, that I have no problem with shaving very close. I use a Gillette Mach3 that I have owned for several years now and have only needed to buy new blades every year or so. I use the blades for at least 4-6 months each.
The only reason I change the blade is because I feel I should get the sharpest blade I can on my razor. I do notice a small improvement whenever I do change the blade, but I am convinced that blades will last much, much linger than the commercials would have you believe. The “expiration” strip, to me, is just a marketing gimmick by the manufacturers to get you to buy blades more often than is really necessary.

Try it for yourself. You might just be surprised. Just remember to really soak your face with the hottest water you can reasonably stand prior to shaving.

You could, of course, use the ‘old fashioned’ double edged safety razors. They shave at least as close as razor cartridges, last just as long and are only 15 cents a piece (go to Amazon and look up “100 Derby razor blades”).

Yes, you need to buy a handle for these blades, and they’re more expensive than a cartridge handle, but not by that much (go to Amazon and look up “Parker razor handle” or “Merkur razor handle” The Merkur has a nice heft to it, but is a bit more expensive. One handle can fit any brand of safety razor (and there are many)…Imagine that!

Lastly – this shaving system will require that you really learn how to shave. Cartridges are very forgiving, real razors are not. But, once you get the hang of it, you will never go back. If you go this route, shave ‘with the grain’ for a week or two before going against the grain. Once you can shave against the grain and see the result, you’ll wonder why anyone even uses a cartridge system.

You may even want to go all out on this ‘old fashioned’ shaving system and pick up a shaving brush, and real shaving soap (yes, it shaves differently than the goop from a can).

There are forums and the like that discuss these in greater detail. Or, you can go ask your grandfather about these

As an aside, if you have trouble with razor burn or ingrown hair as a result of shaving, using a safety razor system should solve that. How? Safety razor systems use the extreme sharpness of a single blade to cut a hair cleanly as opposed to using multiple relatively dull blades to pull the hair apart.

Don’t use Soap, cream or Baby Oil to shave, Soap is bad for the skin. It removes excessive amount of the natural oils from your skin. By ‘Cream’ i assume you all mean Shaving Cream which is a detregent and is the same detegent that is use in Engine Degreaser, read the MSDS for degreaser’s and this is the muck in the shave creams (continued use causes cancers). Baby Oil is a petroluem based Oil, to save money you might as well use engine from you car, again not good for your skin. Two Methods I use, !:- ‘Vegetable Cooking Oil’ take your pick from the basic safflower through to the cold pressed top quailtiy ones. 2:- Moisturizer, the cheapest and thicker ones work best and preferably with out scent.
METHOD for both above is wet face with warm water, apply a small amount (3/4 Teaspoon) of Oil or Moisturizer to your face, legs or whatever you shave, shave as normal rinsing razor in warm water regularly, rinse razor out after use AND the fact that you are using a oil based product to shave with you razor is protected from rust

Great tip. I try to get the most out of my cartridges by drying them thoroughly and making sure they are really clean after shaving. But, even with that, I can only get about 10 shaves out of a cartridge. I’m very excited to try this. Thanks!!!

I’ve used the same 4 blade razor cartridge for over a year now. Just dry it after use, strop it every two or three shaves (a strop is best IMO, but an old leather belt, the heel of your hand–be sure you go the right direction–or the jeans should work well. Haven’t tried the jeans, but it’s a good idea!

I bought a 12 pack of double edge razors @ Wall Mart for less than $3 and they are just as good as Gillette or any of the other name brands.so if I strop these I’ll probably never have to buy any more blades again.

I have worked out that instead of buying packets of replacement blades for Schick/Gillette click-on multi-blade razors it’s actually somewhat CHEAPER to buy a pack of the equivalent disposables, discard the handles (what a waste) and mount the blade part on the “permanent” razor handle as if it was a “proper” blade replacement. How silly is that!

There is even easier way … Take the razor and run it on your arm in the opposite way of shaving … It does the same thing, just run it 10 times while you are in the bathroom before shaving, works lika a charm. In the old days , the barbers used a leather belt to sharpen their blades… Doesn’t hurt or anything … Much faster and easier then to go get jeans and do it..

@Tool Hand Luke – In whose dream world is it quicker to use an electric razor? I can shave in one minute with a blade, and even after 5 or 10 minutes with an electric razor, I don’t feel like I have shaved at all.. I have yet to figure out what purpose electric razors have or how they are convenient for anyone. Great idea re: maintaining the blades w/ a pair of jeans. Another idea: You probably don’t need to shave every day. Every other day will probably do fine, and your skin will thank you.

When I was 5 y/o, an old man running a little store with one light bulb told me that when I grew up, to remember to place your razor upside down (cutting edge down)and it would last an enormous period of time. I remembered this in a dream when in my 20’s and started doing it. It works. The water molecules drain away from the cutting edge and this keeps the blade from rusting or otherwise getting dull. Lasts a whole lot longer than placing the razor face down.

don’t do that try small pyramid of plywood or plastic ( not any metal ) place your razor after shaving in side pyramid in a north -south direction . try next day or next time shave , u feel that the blade is still just like a new one . i used ordinary razor & blade (all , twin , triple blade or ordinary blade ), u amaze that the blade remain sharped even after month’s of use. ( please search for pyramid size to make perfect shape on the net (pyramid therapy ) various use of this pyramid u try . u can put fruit under the pyramid & eat after 3 or 4 day’s later u enjoy freshness of that fruit. try & see the result.

What a load of bollocks. TIFO is about referenced and sourced things that work or actually happened, not superstitious crap like your “Pyramid” nonsense. I know it’s three years on but c’mon man, leave that irrational nonsense at the door and join the REAL world…

Back on topic, I tried this with a variety of different cartridge blades and found it actually made the quality of the shave WORSE.

I’ve since gotten sick of using cartridges and am used to using a straight shavette razor. With a bit of practice and preparation you can can get a shave BETTER than a cartridge razor and 30 double sided blades (i.e. effectively 60 blades) for £5. I’ve never looked back.

Or maybe half a million people just didn’t feel compelled to make the correction.

The technique is called “stropping,” and the straight razor crowd has been doing it for years Back when straight razor usage was common, a good strop would be made of leather, but canvas (similar to denim) could be used as a cheaper alternative.

So you could try the technique with a strip of leather and maybe you’d never have to replace a cartridge again!

I use hand lotion instead of soap or shaving cream. The oil in the lotion helps reduce corrosion. Disposable razors usually last at least a month. Noxema, & hair conditioner work well also.
The rubbing of the razor blade over your jeans is stropping just like barbers and others that use a straight razor.

Typo.:
“the cartridge needs replaced”
“the cartridge needs to be replaced”
Typo.:
“pant legs in tact)”
“pant legs intact)”
Awkward:
“which should of course make all”
“which of course should make all”
Awkward:
“The (subj) then will (adv) both fix (obj1) and will also sharpen (obj2).”
“The (subj) then (adv) will fix (obj1) and also will sharpen (obj2).”
“The (subj) then (adv) both will fix (obj1) and will sharpen (obj2).” [Alt.]
{ Thankfully, I don’t need a FaceBook account to comment. }

I clean the razor with hot water, then place the blade into some olive oil (or some other vegetable oil) in a dish. This drives the water off the blade, thus cutting oxidization. This has not failed in keeping the blade in optimum shape to the maximum extent. It is much less work than the method described in this article.

FYI, I use hair conditioner in lieu of shaving foam. It lubricates the skin and beard much better making for a smoother shave. It is much less irritating on my skin than soap.

Any WWII veteran or someone who lived through the great depression knows the answer to this one. Use as much hot water on your face as you want. This makes the bristles stand up for a closer shave so that’s good but never rinse a razor blade in any water that is not as cold as it can possibly be.
When rinsing the blade in warm/hot water the blade undergoes expansion followed by a contraction back to its normal size as the blade goes from hot back to normal temperature again. This makes the edge dull perhaps because the hot water softens the metal.
When rinsing with only cold water the blade goes in the other direction by contraction first and then expansion back to its normal size as the temperature goes from cold back to normal temperature again. This does not dull the edge.
With blades these days it is even worse. Hot or even warm water will soften the polymer coating on the blade. Then when the blade expands because of the warm or hot water the polymer stretches. When it contracts again not only is the edge dull but the polymer is all wrinkled up which effectively makes the blade seem even more dull. This happens pretty much instantly and is great for companies who manufacture razor blades because the consumer has to replace the blade sooner.
To test this, lather and shave only half your face with a new razor (be sure to always rinse it in very cold water). When finished this side of your face, rinse the razor several times while changing the temperature of the water from hot to cold. Now lather and shave the other side of your face. If you do not immediately notice that the blade is now more dull you will for sure notice the next time you use the razor. Mine usually last until the wife takes them in the shower. I have had some blades stay perfectly sharp for at least a few years of daily shaving.

Tip 4 the guy trying 2 shave his butt. Just wax it. If U can’t handle the pain of that (cry baby) then take one hand and spread your butt cheeks, with the other hand take the razor and GENTLY shave from your crack outwards. This will take care of your monkey butt.
B-Dizzy

The Fusion cartridges are very expensive. I was getting ready to buy a new pack of 4 due to mine dulling when I ran across this. I decided to follow your advice. That’s been 2 months ago and I’m still shaving with what was at one time the dullest of the 4 cartridges in the packet. The shave from this has been just as close and smooth as a new one and I shave just about every day. At this rate it could be a while before I need to purchase a new pack of cartridges. I’ll be saving a bundle in the future while enjoying a nice and close daily shave.

I think in the old days of straight razors, those who could afford it had more than 1 razor, to let the one used rest a couple days. Then they definitely used a strop, which are still available on line. I saw a guy using the striker part of a matchbook to sharpen his blades.

Ive got a method that works very well. rest the razor in cold pea soup, the peas in the soup leave a slimy coating on the blade and lubricate it, and give the blade a fresh minty fragrance if mint peas were used in the soup. rinse blade quickly in cold water before use.

I switched over to using a T-style safety razor. Learn how to use it right and it can give you the same close shave as a 5 blade razor or better. And I bought a years worth of blades for $16 on Amazon. The handle was a one time cost of $40.

Good stuff guys. Now, I have an awesome offer for you! Click here, and here and here and over here, then call this number to collect your winnings! If that number is busy, call the following 10 numbers and an agent will be happy to help solve mysteries of life. Long dist. charges may or may not apply.

Kidding.

Yes, that’s a great tip. Another good one is taking your razor and swishing it in isopropyl alcohol when you’re done. What you’re doing is getting rid of the hard water deposits from your tap water that can corrode the blade.
It’s not my idea, but I’m convinced it works to extend the life of your $3-4 cartridge.

I have been using the same blade since before April. It is now almost October, and all I have been doing is blowing vigorously on the blade, drying it after each shave. I am using the Schick Hydro 5.
I am interested in the Jeans technique however. If this blade I am using gets to go dull, I certainly will give it a shot.

A used Gillette “Super Speed,” 1940-1970s vintage, are readily available in various models for as little as a few bucks on ebay. Decent stainless blades can be bought most places, even today. Stropping them does help maintain the edge, though with such a potentially minimal outlay for world-class shaves, you may not feel the need to do so.

I will NEVER go back to multiblade cartridges unless I’m forced to do so. The Fusion Proglide shaves wonderfully, I’ve tried it, but it’s just too expensive for what you get, stropped or not.

I tried it and put to much pressure on my shavor, against the jeans. The Gilette Proglide razor broke =/

So try and not over-do-it like me. Little pressure sounds like it works fine. I cannot comment about the effect of Joe’s tip but i am really hopeful and will not go back buying cartridges. I will make it work with the jeans

Being basically slack, I have been stropping my disposable on my hand, hoping the ridges strop the edge. Having good success. Stand under the shower, shave, strop the blade 20+ times away from the edge and chuck it on the shelf. Seems to be working so far after a few weeks. No extra process with the jeans, newspaper etc out of the shower.